Skip to main content
A total of 39 courses have been found.
This course is designed to introduce students from a variety of majors to the social and cultural history of African Americans through the framework of religious history.  It will provide students with the opportunity to explore how African- American religious communities developed and changed in response to various struggles for freedom in black America, and how these freedom struggles transformed religious consciousness and social and political values in the United States from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade to the present.  The course will engage students in critical and creative thinking about the cultural, historical, and political issues that have constructed the African American religious experience and the relationships between religion, race, and society in the United States.  Class sessions will follow a lecture discussion format, and occasionally, interactive study groups will be utilized. Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
The United States in historical, contemporary, and transnational perspective; social and cultural diversity and conflict in American life; debates on concepts of America, the American Dream, national culture, citizenship. Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Variety of historic and contemporary sources, such as literature, law, photography, painting, film, TV, music, fashions, environments, events of everyday life.

Introduction to American Studies provides practice learning about America through a variety of historic and contemporary sources such as autobiography, literature, photography, painting, film, music, architecture, environments, and events of everyday life. This semester, our course will be organized by American cultural studies keywords (memory, place, amusement, rural etc.) and their associated scholarship. In addition, our working example threaded throughout the course will be the “authentically American” Dolly Parton. This course should interest anyone who is curious about the commonality, complexity, and diversity of cultures in the U.S.

Topics include:

  • Homesteading in the Smoky Mountains: Settler-colonialism, Race, and Southern Memory
  • “Backwoods Barbie:” Gender and American popular culture
  • Wide Open Spaces: Place-based identity across the urban / rural divide
  • Getting Ahead in America: Dolly’s “Coat of Many Colors” and crafting stories of success
  • Working 9-to-5: Corporate culture and labor history in the U.S.
  • Dolly Parton’s Stampede Show: Amusement, animals, and gimmicks at Dollywood
  • Queering the Countryside: Country music legacies of Lil Nas X, Trixie Mattell, and Orville Peck

In addition to a vibrant archive of music, photographs, videos and news articles, assigned course material includes American studies research. This material may include: Keywords for American Cultural Studies (Burgett and Hendler), Francis Whatley’s film Dolly Parton: Here I Am, She Came by It Naturally (Smarsh), South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation (Perry), Men Like That: A Southern Queer History (Howard), selected works by Tiya Miles

Learning Outcomes:

Students become aware of the key characteristics that have defined American culture and values
Students hone methods for analyzing American culture by engaging a variety of artifacts.
Students reflect on the roles of their own experiences and beliefs in their understanding of American culture.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Comparative study of culture, social organization.

How and why do human communities develop their ways of living, change these over time, and differ from one another? How is this cultural diversity impacted by globalization, and why does such diversity continue to matter in the 21st century?  Cultural anthropology asks and answers these questions through a comparative lens that includes widely diverse peoples, places and times. The field is known for “making the strange familiar, and the familiar strange,” meaning that it sparks reflection not only about cultural differences but also about what we all often take for granted in our own daily experiences. Through readings, lectures, films and other media, we will explore anthropology’s findings about key lifeways, cultural similarities and differences among peoples across the globe, and consider key questions about how anthropologists produce this knowledge.   

This course combines lectures, discussions, and in-class activities with assignments that are designed to promote critical thinking and analytical writing skills. Graded work includes three exams, class participation/discussion activities, and two short writing assignments—including one in which students get to try out their own ethnographic research skills, by examining key social and cultural features of life on campus.

Social Sciences Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Exploration of how different cultures throughout history and across the globe have expressed their social, political, and religious values in visual form; key themes include social functions of art, the ideal body, art of the divine, funerary art, propaganda and power.

Themes in Global Art is designed for students with no art history background. It is a cross-cultural course that explores key themes in art from a global perspective. We will be comparing and contrasting the many ways that different nations and ethnic populations throughout history have expressed their social, political, and religious values in visual form. Some of the international themes in art that we will study include: propaganda and power, social functions of art, ritual and self-expression (such as tattoos and body mutilation), and religion and the divine realm. The course requirements include unit assessments that are partly multiple-choice and true/false questions and partly short-answer essays.

This course has online proctored exams, all of which will be administered via Proctorio, an online proctoring service. Generally, students will need: a computer with 2 GB of free RAM a reliable internet connection a webcam capable of scanning the testing environment a working microphone a quiet, private location the Google Chrome browser with the Proctorio extension installed. More information will be available on the syllabus.

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Exploration of what senior artists can teach about creativity and aging; interdisciplinary project-based collaborative learning opportunities that consider role of arts and creativity across a lifespan; essential skills necessary to be professionals in numerous careers including health, social work, education, humanities, and the arts; identification of ways for students to be more creative in their own lives and work.

In Creativity for a Lifetime, students will learn the significance of creativity in human happiness and success. Creativity is part of what makes us human, and understanding the creative process is relevant to all of us. In this course, we will examine questions about big ideas, such as: What is creativity and how can we be more creative? What can we learn from closely examining our own and others’ creative work? What is the role of creativity across the human lifespan? How can creative work be a part of healthy adult life and healthy aging?
We will especially consider the lives and work of artists. Because artists intensively imagine things that don’t yet exist, understanding artist’s experiences will enhance innovation and imagination. Students in the arts, liberal arts, sciences, and social sciences can apply the experience gained from studying the outcomes of creativity and working with established artists to other academic disciplines.

Students will engage in activities and projects as opposed to lectures and exams. Taught in an active-learning TILE classroom, Creativity for a Lifetime brings together the knowledge, skills, and life experiences of students and faculty members interested in an array of disciplines, including art and art history, anthropology, education, rhetoric, social work, aging studies, and the health sciences. To better appreciate the elements of successful aging, the richness of life-long learning, and an appreciation of the role of creative endeavor throughout a lifespan, students will meet Iowa artists and collect their oral histories.

 

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Religious beliefs, practices in India, China, Japan.

 

This course will offer an introduction to the diverse ways in which people living in Asia (India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan) bring a broad range of religious ideas to life through practice. The course is designed to give students an opportunity to encounter a variety of religious beliefs, rituals, and practices, and to help them build the foundation of cultural knowledge required for future work on and in Asia. We will focus on Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Shinto, and various systems of popular religious beliefs; exploring how individuals often participate in a number of different religious practices even though such practices may seem to belong to several different religious and philosophical systems.

The course will specifically address the gendered, racist, and colonialist history of the study of Asia and Asian religions, and how this still affects the field today. Attention will be paid to practices that are meaningful to most people, and especially to women, and we will discuss how such practices have often been ignored or disparaged by scholars of religion –and sometime by religious leaders too. We will work with images, videos, historical documents, interviews, religious/philosophical texts, scholarly articles, and fiction. Course grades are based on in-class tests, participation, a writing assignment, peer review of other students’ writing assignments, and a final exam.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Literary and philosophical texts of China in English translation.

Asian Humanities: China is a general introduction to the various aspects of Chinese humanities from antiquity to the present, including philosophy, religion, literature, art, music, and history. This course will examine a selection of historical documents in different genres, such as stories, poems, novels, and plays, as well as the foundational documents of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Students will examine key facets of Chinese civilization, ranging from identity, family, self and society through these literary and philosophical documents. Primary sources will be analyzed to understand the similarities and differences between the East and the West, the changing interpretations of the religious and philosophical documents over Chinese history, and the evidence of the impact of historical values on current Chinese society.


This course will promote critical thinking and advances rhetorical and writing skills by prioritizing active learning via classroom discussion, supplemented with lectures. Students will be assessed on active class participation and preparation, their knowledge of the course materials, and their critical engagement with the sources and themes through interpretation and analysis. Class format will be at-home reading, in class lecture and discussion, and short answer assessments.


Readings are in English, and no prior knowledge of Chinese language or culture is expected.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Introduction to historical development of Chinese script, Chinese calligraphy theories, representative calligraphers, and writing Chinese script using a Chinese writing brush.

Introduction to historical development of Chinese script; Chinese character formation; fundamentals of Chinese character writing (stroke sequence, character structure); Chinese calligraphy theories and representative calligraphers; appreciation of Chinese calligraphy as an art form; hands-on practice on writing Chinese script styles including seal style, clerical style, regular style, running style, and cursive style by using a Chinese writing brush. The course is taught in English. No prerequisites are required.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Ancient Greek and Roman writings on magic, including ancient spells and charms.

In this course, we will study ancient Greek and Roman magical beliefs and practices from Homer to the rise of Christianity. Topics covered in this course will include: Greek and Roman Mystery Religions (e.g., Orphism, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Cult of Isis); Greek and Roman witches and sorcerers (e.g., Circe, Medea, and Canidia); Greek and Roman sages and miracle-workers (e.g., Pythagoras and Apollonius of Tyre); Greek and Roman views on ghosts and the afterlife; and Greek and Roman texts that purport to describe how to perform spells and curses. Ultimately, the aim of this course is to give students a basic understanding of the complex ways in which magic worked in Greek and Roman society.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Introduction to ancient Greek and Roman myths with focus on using these sources as interpretations of culture and human psyche; emphasis on flexibility of myth and its importance for understanding ancient history, art, literature, religion, and philosophy.

Hercules, Odysseus, Achilles and Oedipus all share one major characteristic: they are all heroes whose adventures and stories are chronicled in timeless Greek and Roman sacred stories, or myths. This course looks at these heroes (and more!), in addition to the gods and goddesses whom these peoples believed ruled their world. The study of Greco-Roman mythology offers an excellent window into the past by providing us with a unique opportunity to examine how the Greeks and Romans attempted to answer questions about the nature of the universe and mankind’s place in it.  The myths of any people betray attitudes concerning life, death, life after death, love, hate, morality, the role of women in society, etc.; we will pay particular attention to how Greco-Roman mythology addresses these important issues.
This course is designed to offer a general introduction to the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Because ancient myths have come down to us in various works of literary and physical art, this course will also introduce you to some of the most influential works produced in ancient Greece and Rome. Moreover, because the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome have exercised such an influence in the shaping of the modern western world, we will equip ourselves with the background necessary to make modern literature, philosophy, religion, and art intelligible and meaningful. By examining and scrutinizing the myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans, we will learn not only a great deal about their cultures, but we will also put ourselves in a position from which to question, criticize, and (hopefully) better understand the foundations of the world in which we find ourselves.
This course meets the Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts general education requirement, as well as the Values and Culture requirement, through its use of ancient works of art (literary and visual) and focus on the ways in which ancient Greek and Romans managed the human experience.

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Survey of gender and sexuality issues in the social, political, and religious life of ancient Greece and Rome; evidence from literature, the visual arts, archaeology.

What did ancient sex toys look like? How scandalous could Roman love poets be before getting banished by the emperor? Why do the heroes in the Iliad and the Odyssey cry so much? In this class we will learn about systems of gender and sexuality in the classical world through a survey of literary, visual, and archaeological evidence. We will pay particular attention to how ancient views of sex and gender differed from our own and what this means for our conceptions of our own cultural categories. Requirements: completion of GE CLAS Core Rhetoric and sophomore standing.

Requirements: completion of GE CLAS Core Rhetoric and sophomore standing
Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Processes and effects of mass communication; how mass media operate in the United States; how mass communication scholars develop knowledge. Social Sciences Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

This course explores the role of the performing arts in the human experience, and examines the nature of the creative impulse in different performance media, cultures, societies and historical contexts.  Much of the class work is based on attendance at live performances of theatre, music, and dance on campus and in the community.  Readings, films and videos will augment live performances. Emphasis is on analyzing performance and the experience of the audience through writing and in-depth class discussions. 

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Influence of social factors such as discrimination, diversity, equity, racism, sexism, and ethnic and socioeconomic pluralism on American schools and classrooms; for teacher education candidates.

The focus of this course, which is required for teacher certification, is on social factors such as discrimination, diversity, equity, racism, sexism, and ethnic and socioeconomic pluralism and their influence on American schools and classrooms. The class is limited to persons who plan to obtain a teaching certificate or who are required to have the course because they will be working in schools. The class is organized with a lecture/discussion section format. The lectures are given by faculty and guest speakers; the discussion sections are taught by TAs and faculty members. Papers, individual and group projects and presentations, reports, and tests are among the class activities and assignments. There is a final exam on the lectures in addition to the exams for each discussion section. Several texts and a book of readings are required.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
European and American films (e.g., documentaries, feature films); literature of the Holocaust in English translation (e.g., survivor memoirs, testimony, poetry, philosophical essays, graphic novels). Taught in English.

This course introduces students to the film and literature of the Holocaust. We will analyze the origins and development of historical and religious anti-Semitism, the role of Nazi propaganda, the state-sponsored attack on Jewish businesses, homes and bodies in 1938 (Reichspogromnacht), the establishment of ghettos and the concentration camp system across Europe and the role of ‘ordinary Germans’ in the Holocaust. We will examine documentary films—from the liberation of the camps (Nazi concentration camps) to later interview films (Lanzmann, Shoah) —as well as European and American feature films (Spielberg, Schindler’s List) and pay special attention to the function of testimony and witnessing (Renais, Night and Fog; Doron & Sinai, Numbered). We will also discuss representations of Auschwitz, the Auschwitz Sonderkommando revolt in literature and film (Nemes, Sons of Saul), survivor accounts and testimonials (e.g., Jean Améry, Primo Levi), Yiddish poetry written during the Holocaust (e.g., Abraham Sutzkever) and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel MAUS.  We will also examine how Germany remembers the Holocaust by analyzing recent constructions of memorials and museums.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Role and status of women in society; sex differences, sex role socialization, theories about origin and maintenance of sexual inequalities, changes in social life cycle of women, implications for social institutions and processes; focus on contemporary United States.

This course is designed to give you an introduction to the sociological analysis of gender in American society. As part of its focus, sociology investigates and exposes aspects of social life that are usually taken for granted. In this course, we will critically examine the multiple ways that gender organizes and structures the social world in which we live. To this end, we will be investigating such topics as the predominant theoretical stances related to the study of gender, femininities and masculinities, how gender structures everyday social interaction, and how social institutions (e.g., education, work, family, the media) create gendered meanings and structures. Finally, we will conclude by considering ways to intervene in many of the processes that perpetuate gender-based inequality.

 

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Physical activity determinants in society; school, workplace, community-based health promotion interventions to improve activity levels.

The course will introduce students to physical activity as a health determinant. Students will gain an understanding of the individual, social, and environmental factors that influence physical activity participation and ultimately physical fitness and health throughout the life cycle. Requirements of the course include: weekly assignments & quizzes, papers, a physical activity log, and examinations.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Survey of texts, ideas, events, institutions, geography, communities, literature, arts, sciences, and cultures in Islamic communities and societies since the 7th century.

 
More information on Prof. Souaiaia's website.

This course is for students with an interest in learning about the Islamic civilization, the religious practices and beliefs, and/or the history or the regions where Muslims are in the majority.  We will examine the traditions and main social and legal institutions of Islam. Arguably, Islam, as a major system of beliefs and practices in the world, affects both Muslims and non-Muslims. Consequently, besides examining the basic tenets, texts, and ideas of the Islamic civilization, this course focuses on the variety of ways in which Muslims and non-Muslims have understood and interpreted Islam. We will review the discussions surrounding the life of the Prophet of Islam, Islamic pre-modern and modern history, the place and role of individuals and society, the legal and economic status of women, and Islamic governments and movements. As a survey course, we will examine these topics through an interdisciplinary approach: we will apply textual, legal/normative, anthropological, geographical, sociological, analytical, linguistic, and historical methodologies.

International and Global Issues Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Introduction to Italian food culture; students explore how Italian culinary tradition was born and evolved over time, often reflecting historical and economic developments in the country; the different geographical regions of Italy and how each region established its own food culture, while at the same time being part of a national food culture; how Italian food has become a defining element of Italianness in the world, with focus on the birth of Italian-American foodways. Taught in English.

The course will introduce students to Italian food culture and will be comprised of two parts. The first part of the course will explore how the Italian culinary tradition was born and evolved over time, often reflecting historical and economic developments in the country. Students will explore the different geographical regions of Italy and examine how each region established its own food culture, while at the same time being part of a national one. The first part of the course will also examine current culinary trends in Italian foodways, and how they are influenced by current social changes in Italy. The second part of the course will look at how Italian food has become a defining element of Italiannes in the world. This part will focus on the birth of Italian-American foodways and Italian American food culture through the analysis of images of food in literature and films. 

Requirements include class attendance and participation, 4 short writing exercises, a group project, a midterm and a final project.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Prehistory of social media and identification of ideas, events, and elements in ancient and historical times; earliest days of online posting and interacting; first instances of social engagement on the Web; how social media (journalism, politics, health care, romance and lifestyle, entertainment, war and terrorism, professions and jobs) affects individual areas of life, culture, and society; what's next and how social media changes lives in the future and affects the fate of humanity.

Most of us use social media every day. Some of us use it a lot. But there is a difference between being on social media and being an informed, critical social media user who understands how to navigate social media platforms intelligently and ethically. This course is designed to help you become such a user. Throughout the semester, we will discuss a variety of topics (e.g., identity, privacy, speech, politics, branding, etc.) that are essential features of our digital society.

This is a survey course with no prerequisites, intended for students of any major and interest. This course offers an overview of our current understanding of a wide range of social media phenomena from the point of view of researchers, professionals, and critics. We will begin with a brief history of communication technologies, including the first instances of social engagement on the Web. Next, we will discuss key conceptual and theoretical developments that ground informed discussions of social media. We then will examine what the rise of social media means for contemporary culture and society, focusing on a range of topics including. Finally, we will consider future possibilities for digital and social media.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Ghostly Japan 3 s.h.

Introduction to premodern, modern, and contemporary Japanese culture; special attention given to the relationship of classical texts to contemporary novels, short stories, manga, anime, music, and film; students consider relationships of textual and visual cultures, high art and low art, moments of crisis and the everyday, the sacred and the profane, men and women. Taught in English.

This course is an introduction to 1300 years of Japanese literature and culture with special attention paid to the relationship of classical texts to contemporary novels, short stories, manga, anime, music, and film.  Throughout this course we will consider the relationships of textual and visual cultures, of high art and low art, of moments of crisis and the everyday, of the sacred and the profane, and of men and women.  All readings for this class will be in English translation; no knowledge of Japanese is necessary.  This course includes screenings of film and anime with English subtitles.   

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Folk and popular musical traditions and their social contexts in Latin America, the Caribbean; listening skills; video/film screenings.

This course surveys selected folk and popular musical traditions within their historical and social contexts in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students examine the three principal musical sources of indigenous America, Europe and Africa, and the ensuing stylistic mixtures and combinations through select music cultures from the region, including the indigenous music of the Andean highlands, musics of the Afro-Hispanic Caribbean (Cuba and Puerto Rico), Trinidadian calypsos and steel pan, and samba and bossa nova in Brazil. The course is designed to broaden students' exposure to other musical systems and explore the interrelationship of music and its social meaning.

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Introduction to growing cultural production of varied Latina/o/x communities (e.g., Chicano, Puerto Rican American/Nuyorican, Cuban American) that have a strong presence in the United States; recent cultural production from borderland transcultural spaces with physical, cultural, economic, political, and mythical elements; visions of the United States from contemporary Latin American writers who recently have become U.S. residents. Taught in English.

Introduction to growing literary production of varied Latinx communities (e.g., Chicano, Puerto Rican American/Nuyorican, Cuban American) that have a strong presence in the United States; recent literary production from borderland transcultural spaces with physical, cultural, economic, political, and mythical elements; visions of the United States from contemporary Latin American writers who recently have become U.S. residents. Class will consist of short lectures, class discussions, various class and group activities, reading responses to the assigned readings, two short analysis papers, and a final individual project. Taught in English.

This course counts toward the Latina/o/x Studies minor. See the Latina/o/x Studies website for more information about the minor.

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
How to listen to jazz and recognize a variety of processes that are taking place in performances and recordings; historical, social, and political issues, including race and gender; the unique blend of jazz of a particular region; attendance at live performances, meet and interview musicians, critics, and educators.

Since World War II, jazz has spread to every corner of the globe producing unique interpretations and practices as it interacts with local traditions. Similarly, jazz musicians in America have found musical sources for their compositions outside of the traditional jazz mainstream. This course will investigate a number of ways that jazz music is interpreted with particular attention to the contexts in which music is created, transmitted and received. Each year the class compares the American jazz tradition to a unique international region that has a strong jazz scene. 

 

 

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Major 20th-century styles, artists, seminal works, and recordings; developments between 1917 and 1972.

This course is a survey of Major 20th-century styles, artists, seminal works, and recordings; developments between 1900 and today. Course materials include a written text, ICON listening list, films and live performances. Requirements include online quizzes, two exams and writing assignments.

Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Contemporary ethical controversies with life and death implications; topics may include famine, brain death, animal ethics, abortion, torture, terrorism, capital punishment.

In this course, we will evaluate pressing ethical questions facing individuals and society today. Topics include animal ethics and climate change, incarceration, loneliness and the human need to belong, and abortion and reproductive justice.  In order to evaluate these topics, we will study four of the most important Western moral theories: Utilitarianism, Kantianism, The Ethics of Care, and Virtue Ethics. Students will learn to assess applied problems with these theories, gaining the capacity to think critically about a wide range of contemporary moral issues.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Varied topics; may include personal identity, existence of God, philosophical skepticism, nature of mind and reality, time travel, and the good life; readings, films.

Have you ever wondered who you are? Whether you are a physical body or an immaterial mind? Have you ever asked yourself what makes you the same person you were ten years ago? Have you sometimes worried that you cannot know anything with certainty? Have you ever wished that someone would provide a decisive argument for the existence of god? Have you ever been concerned with how you ought to act towards others? In this course, we will explore these and other important philosophical questions through a selection of classical and contemporary readings. We will engage in lively class discussions and writing; we will learn to analyze others’ philosophical arguments and build our own; and we will gain a better understanding of our own philosophical outlook and the philosophical questions that matter most to us. 

 

 

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Analytical and historical introduction to ethical theories; issues such as the nature of the goodness, distinction between right and wrong.

View introduction video

Consider the following scenario:  You are walking alongside some train tracks when you discover that a runaway trolley is headed right for five people tied to the tracks.  As it happens, you can pull a lever to divert the trolley in a different direction, thereby saving the five – but also killing one person who happens to be tied to the side-track.  What ought you to do in this situation?  Most people would say they would pull the lever.  But now consider a variation on this scenario: Suppose instead that you are on the trolley that is headed toward the five people, and the only way you can save them is by pushing a very large person standing beside you over the front of the trolley so that his bulk stops it, killing him but saving the other five.  (Of course, you considered sacrificing yourself, but realized that your slender body would not stop the trolley.)  Now what should you do? Notice that if you push the person, you get the same consequence:  five persons live and one dies.  Or consider a parallel medical case: If a medical team has enough time and resources to save either one person or a group of five others, but not both, it seems they should save the five; but what if they could only save the five by killing the one and using the organs to save the others?  Once again, if they do so then the consequences would be the same: five live and one dies.  But then, why hesitate to kill the one to save the five?

The trolley case and other cases like it highlight a central problem in ethical theory.  In evaluating whether an action is right or wrong, should we look only to the consequences of these actions, or is something else relevant?  If only the consequences matter, why do we feel, at least initially, that killing the one to save the five is wrong?  If something else is relevant, what is it, and why does it matter?

We make moral judgments on a regular basis in our lives, judgments to the effect that some goal or purpose is good, that some decision or action is right or wrong, or that some person is a good or bad person.  Despite the fact that such judgment are commonly made and acted upon, and have deep and significant consequences, people rarely subject them to much critical reflection.  We rarely ask what exactly we mean by such judgments, or on what basis they ought to be made. What is it for something to be good or bad?  What constitutes a good or valuable life for a human being?  What is it for an action to be right or wrong? Is the rightness of actions determined solely by the value of the consequences of actions?  What role, if any, do agents’ motives or intentions play in determining the rightness or wrongness of actions?  In this course we examine classical and contemporary works that articulate and defend particular answers to such important questions.

Course objectives:  To help you 

  • identify central questions in ethics;
  • understand and be able to explain the leading answers to such questions;
  • develop the skills needed to compare and critically evaluate competing answers to these questions;
  • develop the skills needed to examine the implications such answers have for some controversial moral problems;
  • improve your ability to write clear argumentative essays.

 Readings:  ICON site.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

How American men, women, and children practice their beliefs in today's society.

Have you ever been curious about what and why people believe? Do you wonder about why people eat certain things at certain times of the year, why people pray, why they raise their families in certain ways? If you wonder about any of these things THEN THIS IS THE CLASS FOR YOU!

We will explore together commonalities as well as differences among religious and spiritual groups in the United States today including evangelical Protestant Christians and Roman Catholics; Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews; and Muslims.  We will also learn about less well known groups and adherents such as the Amish, Zen Buddhists, Scientologists, Jehovah Witnesses, and snakehandling Holiness-Pentecostals, as well as the beliefs of agnosticism and atheism.

Class Format: 

The format for this class is facilitated learning. We will have in-class discussions in which we share our views and learn together. Because this is a General Education class, you will take away some important skills that will help you in other classes and in life. Reading and writing skills, short in-class presentations, and group work are some of the things we will address in this class. Dr. Kristy is a passionate teacher who invites you to share her interest in understanding the world in which we live and each other’s religious, spiritual, and cultural backgrounds.

Class Assignments:

Assignments include: Four short analysis papers on class readings; a family spiritual-religious heritage paper; short quizzes; a final “Religion in Iowa City” report and 3-minute in-class presentation. All of the course readings will be available on course ICON site.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Quests for destiny in terms of perceived options/goals and ability to recognize, pursue, achieve them.

The framework for this course is made up of three ancient works: The Epic of Gilgamesh and, from the Bible, the first nine chapters of the Book of Genesis and the Book of Jonah. The differing ways in which these three texts deal with the issue of the inevitability of death is the focal point of the course. How this point is exploited is examined in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych," Clarke's Childhood's End, the Book of Ecclesiastes, the E'numa E'lish, and Stanley Kubrick's film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Upon completing this course, students should be able to (a) reflect on how various quests for meaning in life as expressed in literature relate to the human condition, with particular attention to matters relating to the table, the bedroom, and the grave; (b) specify the dangers in making generalizations about biblical texts and the individuals and groups that hold them to be sacred; (c) indicate how fundamental human questions such as "Where do we come from?", "Where are we going?", and "How long do we have?" are expressed from the contrasting viewpoints of the pagan and biblical visions.

In addition to reading materials and interactive tools, online content includes audio slideshows and video (recorded class lectures of Professor Jay Holstein); evaluation consists of one 2-page writing assignment and online assessments by way of multiple-choice practice quizzes (which do not factor into the course grade), and  midterm and final exams, all of which are accessed in the ICON course management system. While this online venue is designed in such a way that it will replicate as much as possible the classroom experience, it also aims to capitalize on the element of flexibility made possible by the online experience.                                                                  

Delivery features:

  • Since course video and audio components include close captioning and transcripts, the course is accessible for hearing impaired and for students who are not native English speakers, although English competency is assumed for all students.
  • This course seeks to achieve a positive synergy between a design that is both (a) synchronous, that is, diligently working within certain necessary deadlines for a semester-based course, and (b) asynchronous, namely, creatively exploiting the freedom for students too move at their own pace. Within a framework of set deadlines, there is a considerable amount of flexibility for students to pace themselves if they so choose.

This course requires two online proctored examinations and an online proctored essay. Access to a computer with a webcam and microphone in a quiet/private location is required for using an online proctoring service to complete exams.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Examination of the persuasive dimension of stories; students master the skill of storytelling by examining stories circulating within their culture and exploring the effects these stories have on thinking about their identities and discovering their own voices; integration of speaking and writing skills with persuasive storytelling skills through short oral and written assignments that lead to a final multimodal project of two interrelated storytelling assignments—production of a website and a podcast.
Prerequisites: RHET:1030 or RHET:1040 or RHET:1060
Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Development of cultural history in Russia during the Romanov period (1613-1917); painting, music, architecture, and literature viewed against their political, historical, and social settings. Taught in English.

How terrible was Ivan the Terrible? How great was Catherine the Great? And who the heck was that Rasputin dude? We will try to find answers to these and other slightly more pressing questions in the course of this sweeping overview of pre-revolutionary Russian history, literature, and culture. 2013 marked the 400th anniversary of the first Romanov tsar on the Russian throne and 2017 marked the 100th anniversary of the collapse of the dynasty. We will look at Russian culture through the eyes of writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov), painters (Repin, Kramskoi, Perov, Vasnetsov, Ge, Vrubel), composers (Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov), and film directors (Sergei Eisenstein, Alexander Nevsky (1938), Sergei Bondarchuk, War and Peace (1965-67), Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrei Rublev (1969), Alexander Sokurov, Russian Ark (2002). Students are evaluated on the basis of attendance and class participation (30%), two exams (15% each), two papers (15% each), and a presentation (10%). Knowledge of Russian is not required. Course taught in English. 

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Russia Today 3 s.h.

Contemporary Russia, with focus on prevailing social, political, economic, ethnic, environmental conditions; attention to historical evolution of problems, current factors; what these factors might portend for the future. Taught in English.

In this course, you will learn about all facets of the modern Russia: politics, business, family, traditions, everyday life, social problems and much more. We will also look into Russian culture and mindset to help you understand the life in modern Russia more deeply. The course will feature documentaries and invited guest speakers. The course materials and readings will be available on ICON. This course is taught in English.

International and Global Issues Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Introduction to culture, history, and art of eastern European peoples; pagan, dualistic, and animistic beliefs and their coexistence with Christian faith in eastern Europe.

Russian Folklore is an introduction to the culture, history, and art of Russian people.

It is amazing oral art full of the myths about powerful gods, brave warriors, clever and beautiful maidens, vampires, witches, fire birds, black magic, evil eye, and superstitions based on ancient pagan beliefs. During this course, the students will learn different genres of Russian Folklore: fairy tales, myths, legends, songs, cries, sayings, and riddles. Students will regularly get the short questionnaires to check attendance and readiness to pass 4 quizzes and 3 tests with a good grade. No background knowledge required. All readings and discussions are in English.  

Historical Perspectives Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity

Historical development of social welfare and social justice in the United States; individual values and ethics; role and responsibilities of enhancing society; contemporary practice to address social injustices including poverty, discrimination, various forms of violence; small group discussions and debates of various issues to allow for an exchange of diverse views and perspectives; volunteer work.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Structure and process; change over the life cycle; interrelations with other institutions; historical changes; variations by social class and ethnic group.

In this course, we will study American families from a sociological perspective. First, we will look at how American families have changed over time. Second, we will develop an understanding of the theories and methods employed by sociologists to examine issues related to the family. Third, we will examine specific aspects of family life including cohabitation, marriage, divorce, parenthood, and work-family conflict. In the process, we will learn to think objectively and open-mindedly about many controversial aspects of the family and family change, an ability that will enable you to critically evaluate popular portrayals of family-related issues.

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
Major theoretical perspectives for understanding inequality in economics, power, prestige; the magnitude of social inequality in the United States; sex and race inequality; trends in and causes of social mobility; selected consequences of social inequality.

In this course we will examine the major forms of social inequalities in the contemporary United States and the global community. We will explore the characteristics, causes, and consequences of how wealth, power, and other resources are unequally distributed across social groups. We will also analyze the role of public policy and the dominant cultural ideology on maintaining and/or reducing these inequalities.

Students from different disciplines would benefit from being able to answer some questions regarding contemporary society such as: Why is economic inequality getting more evident? How much do race, ethnicity, or gender affect individuals’ chances for getting ahead in life? Is globalization generally good or bad for workers? What is the role of the state, as well as major social institutions such as the media, corporations, and education in all this?

We will achieve the course goals through our readings, writing, active participation, discussions, and using critical thinking in this class.

 

Values and Culture Values, Society, and Diversity
United States parks have been referred to as "America's Best Idea" and represent ideals of exploration and challenge; park and recreational offerings have become a valued staple of American life, focused on opportunity for diverse communities with economic, social, and quality of life implications; introduction to cultural differences in values and expectations related to recreation and park experiences in the U.S.; students scrutinize the roots and contexts of their own recreation choices and attitudes, and gain insight into the power of these preferences on individual development and shaping of perspectives. Values and Culture